GREEN BAY — Anyone who harbored even the tiniest hope that two-time All-Pro cornerback Jaire Alexander would be on the Green Bay Packers’ roster in 2025 probably misunderstood what unfolded in the home locker room at Lambeau Field a day after the Packers’ season ended in Philadelphia. 

While Alexander infamously declined interview requests by loudly proclaiming that “I don’t even know if I’ll be here next year,” then adding, “You don’t want to hear what I’ve got to say. … I don’t have anything good to say.”

That same day, Keisean Nixon issued a couple of proclamations of his own: That he didn’t want to return kickoffs anymore and that he wanted to be the team’s No. 1 cornerback.

“I want to be CB1. CB1 is not doing kick returns. That’s just what it is,” Nixon said, later adding, “I’m excited just to play outside corner for a whole year and know I’m going to play outside corner — focus on playing corner and locking up every team’s No. 1 [receiver] next year.”

While Alexander’s and Nixon’s statements were not simultaneous, they were connected. How do we know? Because Nixon had been one of Alexander’s closest friends — and staunchest supporters — on the team, along with safety Xavier McKinney.

And while Nixon has never been afraid to speak his mind — although he did backtrack during the offseason on his insistence that he was “done” as a returner — he never would have broached the No. 1 cornerback conversation without being convinced that Alexander’s time in Green Bay was over.

Now that Alexander is officially gone, having been released on June 10 and joined the Baltimore Ravens, Nixon will get his wish.

He’ll have every opportunity to be defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley’s No. 1 cover man — a challenging task given the number of elite wide receivers on the schedule, but a job his coaches believe he is more than capable of doing.

Nixon, who has not missed a game since joining the Packers as a free agent from the Las Vegas Raiders in 2022, finished last season with 88 tackles, eight tackles for loss, three sacks, six quarterback hits and seven pass break-ups — all career bests. He also had one interception, picking off Detroit’s Jared Goff in Week 14.

“I was proud of Keisean last year,” defensive passing-game coordinator Derrick Ansley said last month. “He did a really good job of being able to be inside and outside — sometimes throughout [a game] if a guy goes down and he has to go play inside. Very impressed with his maturity, his leadership. He’s taken that next step. I think the sky’s the limit for him.”

If he takes the No. 1 cornerback job and plays at that level throughout the season, the sky’s the limit for the Packers, too.

“I always knew what I was capable of doing. I just needed the [opportunity] to do it,” Nixon said. “I proved last year I can play inside/outside consistently against whoever’s on the other team. The confidence level for me is through the roof.

“Coach DA and Haf have put all the confidence in me to go out there and compete and show that I am who I am.”

About our “Most Important Packers of 2025” Series:  When the Packers kick off their seventh training camp under head coach Matt LaFleur on July 23, they’ll do so with a host of players facing pivotal seasons. LaFleur clearly believes he has ample talent to be a Super Bowl contender — even if he didn’t want to say so as the offseason program came to a close — but turning that belief into reality will require many of those players to produce at higher levels than they have in the past. This series, which began in 2010 on ESPNWisconsin.com, examines each of those players and how the team’s success hinges on their contributions. The list is compiled with input from team observers, former players and NFL sources.

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